


A Leader's Call

by skydarius11



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-05 03:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5359634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skydarius11/pseuds/skydarius11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate ending after Jailbreak. How far will Steven go to protect the ones he loves?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The giant hand-shaped space ship crashed into the sanctuary of the Crystal Gems. The reverberating shockwaves could probably be felt the next state over. In the midst of the destruction, a lone pink lion ran across the sand, trying to find his young companion. Sensing his energy underneath a pile of the broken alien craft, Lion unleashed a mighty, supersonic roar that blew away the debris.

A large pink bubble was revealed, and it contained the four escapees of the home world gems' clutches. The bubble shield disappeared and allowed the gems to stretch out their limbs.

“Nice one" fondly remarked Garnet.

Steven reveled in the praise until he remembered, "Oh my gosh! I can't believe you're a fusion all the time!"

"You met Ruby and Sapphire?!" asked a very surprised Amethyst.

"Oh no! We were going to introduce you! Garnet, your plan…" replied a disappointed Pearl.

Garnet simply shrugged and said "We were waiting for your birthday."

Being the little fun ball that he is, Steven exclaimed "We can still do it! I'll just pretend that I didn't know!"

That earned a couple of chuckles from Amethyst and it seemed as though the gems could relax after all the madness they went through.

But that tension-free atmosphere soon dissipated when a battle weary, orange striped warrior emerged from the wreckage. Collapsing to her knees the defeated gem spat out, "Don't think…you've won! You only beat me…because you're a fusion! If I had someone to fuse with I… huh?"

Her train of useless threats came to a halt when the other occupant of the ship's jail cell rustled from underneath a large chunk of debris. Lapis Lazuli yelped in exhaustion when she moved the large ship fragment off of her. She was about to fly off using her water wings, but was painfully grabbed by the ankle by Jasper. "C'mere brat!" Holding her like a rag doll by her wrist she sneered, "Oh, don't fly off so soon."

"Lapis!" shouted Steven. He made a move to go to her but Amethyst and Pearl held him back.

"Lapis listen, fuse with me!" demanded Jasper.

"W-what?" replied the confused gem.

Forcibly grabbing her cheeks Jasper asked, "How long did they keep you trapped here on this miserable hunk of rock?!" before dropping her down onto the grainy ground.

"Like you're one to talk you big meanie! You locked her up in prison!" shouted Steven.

"Shut up Rose!" retorted Jasper. "You're the one who went against home world and your actions caused her to be trapped here in the first place!"

The air hung heavy around Steven's mind at this realization. He couldn't even hear whatever the crystal gems were shouting back at Jasper. All he heard in his mind were his father's words just hours prior to this dangerous confrontation, " _No such thing as a good war kiddo. Gems were destroyed…and people too."_

He snapped out of his daze when he heard Lapis yelp in pain again. Jasper had her by the straps of her dress and concluded, "This is your chance to take revenge!"

"Lapis" Steven's voice was soft but it carried an immeasurable amount of weight to it that it caused everyone to look at him.

"I'm sorry"

The air was still; even the waves receded as if to give the boy room to speak.

"I don't know what happened at that war you guys keeping talking about, but I'm sorry you got hurt. Let me make up for then and for not being able to get back to you when the ship crashed."

He pushed Pearl's and Amethyst's arms away from his body and took a step forward. "Jasper! I trade myself for Lapis!" announced Steven.

Of course his overprotective family was having none of it!

"Steven! Are you insane?!" shouted Amethyst.

"You can't be serious! You can't go with her! This is out of the question and your declaration is refuted!" rambled a panic-stricken Pearl.

But Steven turned his head to look at the three of them and stared them down, just like he did to that rigged rock sphere. "Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl. As the son of Rose Quartz, your former leader, I order you to let me do this…please…"

They were stunned. They didn't know what to do. It was surprising to say the least that Steven could even utilize his birthright like that. He turned back to Jasper and asked, "So, do we have a deal? If you want me, you have to leave Lapis, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and my planet alone."

Jasper scoffed at the young hybrid, "Are you serious?! You would trade your life for this weak spit gem and your ragtag bunch of inferior nobody's? Do you have any idea what Yellow Diamond will do to you?"

"I have an idea, but I don't care. This is my home, they're my family and she's my friend. And I'll do anything to protect them. So, what's it gonna be? I know you have some way of calling another ship or something" he said.

Jasper revealed the most wicked smile and said, "I accept" as she threw Lapis toward the temple.

When he saw her land on top of some of the ships part with her body now covered with fresh bruises, he was filled with rage. But he remained calm.

He walked over to Jasper's awaiting vice-like grip, but before that he said, "Lion, you're dismissed from that spot" His furry confidant understood and took off into one of his self-made warp holes.

"Where'd your beast disappear too?" Jasper suspiciously asked.

"Beats me, he does his own thing most of the time" shrugged Steven as he got closer to her.

Once he was within her grasp, she hoisted him up in the air with a proud grin etched into her face. But unlike the first time she grabbed him, Steven didn't struggle. In fact he did a complete one eighty, he showed no fear and just stared down at her. Needless to say this agitated her.

She brought him down so he was level with her eyes. "You've got some nerve, Rose. Look at the predicament you're in. But I guess that's another thing I respect about you, you never give up. But mark my words" she lowered hers voice to a harsh whisper, "I'm going to pulverize you until the shards of your gem are like this sand."

Steven didn't even bat an eyelash as Jasper threatened him. This time was different than the previous time he was held in her iron grip. This time, his love for his friends and family outweighed his fear of her. Unfortunately, that didn't sit well with Jasper - literally an alien to the concepts of compassion and friendship. Unable to stand his silent defiance any longer she released him and punched in the chest. The impact created a small crater in the sand.

"STEVEN!" Pearl and Amethyst tried to rush to him but Jasper jumped out of the crater and held the moaning hybrid. "Take one more step and Rose dies."

It was déjà vu. She was serious the first time and she was now. But this time they didn't care. If they were going to perish trying to save the one person that gave their lives new meaning, they'd gladly do it. The duo were about to charge again, but were swiftly held back by Garnet.

"Garnet?! What're you doing?!" Pearl screamed as Amethyst thrashed about trying to get out of her gauntlet hold. But she remained quiet.

Jasper smiled at this and said, "Good. Don't worry…she'll still live. After I'm done beating her into the ground!" With that she continued to mercilessly bombard him with punches that would kill any normal human.

Pearl was stentorian! "Garnet! I swear if you don't let me go I'll cut your arm off!" she screamed.

But she still remained stoic. Amethyst tried to reach Jasper with her whip, but Garnet moved her so the strikes hit the sand. Off to the side, Lapis finally gathered her bearings only to witness and hear the chocked cries of her only friend and possibly soon, her martyr.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

His body mustered once last ear piercing scream as Jasper kneed his arm just above the elbow ligament, breaking the bone like a dried twig. The scene unfolding before them was nothing less than extreme child abuse, and Steven's mutilated body lying on the ground…how could Jasper even smile after what she's done? It was a miracle that he was still breathing.

_"Why doesn't he retreat to his gem? What if he can't?! Steven! Please…no more…no more!"_

Those thoughts were filtering through all of the shock stricken gems. If that wasn't enough, Jasper put one foot on Steven's gem as an act of providence. That was straw that broke the camel's back.

“YOU MONSTER!" shouted Lapis and Pearl. Amethyst chose a few grungier words to express her hatred towards Jasper.

She blocked out their insults and continued to apply pressure to Steven's belly. She looked down at the little gem with contempt as well as confusion. "Why…"

Before she could finish her thought, Lion came up behind her via his warp hole and slashed her back. She immediately got off of Steven and shouted in pain. "Why you little-!"

Lion got away before she could make a move toward the giant cat.

Suddenly she found herself surround by Steven's bubble. She looked down and saw that his gem was glowing. His good arm was extended out to cast the shield. But the thing was, he was outside the bubble. He opened his good eye and saw Jasper pounding on the shield. Once the realization hit her she roared, "You baited me! You played me from the start! When I get out of here I'm gonna-!"

Once again she was interrupted, this time by the intensity of the light emanating from his gem. When the glow subsided, everyone was shocked to see pink vines surrounding the bubble. Everyone could still see an irate Jasper pounding away at the shield, but in her blind fury she couldn't see that with every punch that connected to the wall of the shield, thorns would emerge from the vines.

He created an **iron rose maiden**.

Jasper finally realized what was going on when her fist made contact with one of the long, sharp thorns.

"GAH!" she recoiled.

If gems could bleed, there would've been a lot of blood gushing out of the circular wound in between her knuckles. Her rising frustration and desperation just caused her to punch harder. Steven was struggling to keep the rose maiden intact, and it didn't go unnoticed by the gems.

Garnet released Amethyst and Pearl and they all ran to his location to help him. But they stopped in their tracks when a giant water hand rose out of the ocean. They looked over and saw Lapis use her hydrokinesis to surround the rose maiden in a sphere of water. Jasper took notice of this and looked over at Lapis' direction.

"YOU TRAITOR! Why are you siding with these miscreants?!" she demanded.

Lapis took a moment to put her newfound confidence and resolve into words. "…I never believed in this place and I'm not siding with them. But I don't believe in our new home world either. I'm done being everyone's prisoner, now you're **MY** prisoner! And I'm going to make sure you never see the light of day ever again! Because you hurt the one person I believe in!"

The water sphere began to fall back into the ocean. Jasper continued to punch in her violent tantrum, trying desperately to escape the double-layered prison. But the spikes kept growing, making contact with her flesh on all sides. She attempted to make one last threat, but was cut off when the rose maiden was fully submerged underwater.

After a few moments a couple of bubbles floated to the surface, as if something popped. Lapis used her power again to bring up the source of the air bubbles. When the water sphere emerged, all that remained of the violent gem was her gem.

Lapis looked over at the crystal gems, silently asking whether or not to destroy it. You'd think it be an easy call considering what she did, but Garnet merely shook her head. Rose and Steven had compassion for everything, even if they didn't deserve it. Lapis dropped the gem onto the beach and Pearl ran over to retrieve it. She grasped it in her shaky hand and gave it a very hard squeeze before sending it to the temple. …It was over. The threat was gone for good…for now.

_Grooowlll_ Lion's growling snapped the Gems out of their stupor when they saw him over by the near lifeless body.

"STEVEN!" they all shouted as they ran back over to him. How could they have forgotten about him, even for the precious seconds they were dealing with Jasper?

Lion was lying next to him, just like he did when he almost aged to death. They looked down and were mortified. Seeing the damage from afar is nothing like seeing up close. His body was all shades of black, purple and blue. The lower half of his right arm looked like it could detach any second. A sharp intake of air snapped all of them to full attention.

"P…pearl…G-garnet…Aaamethyst…L-lapis..." How he could even have the strength to say their names was beyond all comprehension.

Garnet knelt down, stroked his forehead and choked out, "Shhhh, save your strength. You're going to be alright." He reopened his good eye and observed all the tear stained faces around him. He showed a small smile of relief as he closed his eyes and relaxed into the soft sand.

"STEVEN!" shouted Pearl.

Garnet put her ear to his chest. After a few tense moments she said, "…He's alive, but he doesn't have much time…"

"What're we going to do?! We can't lose him!" cried Pearl.

"Well freaking out isn't going help anything!" shouted a very frustrated Amethyst.

"Not now you two!" shouted Garnet. Tensions were high. They couldn't waste any time bickering or worry whether or not he'll make it.

Lapis just stared at the boy trying to make sense of all of it. Even though Jasper hurt him, she realized the contradiction of her statement towards her. She nearly ended his life when all he was trying to do was save his home from her. And he still gave her what she thought she wanted. How could someone care so much about her? All she knew was solitude. A prisoner in the physical sense and in her own mind, believing deep in her heart that she was nothing.

"Steven…" she softly said as she touched his battered body. “I wish I could heal you…like you did for me."

All three of the gems looked at her. Then a lightbulb immediately went off.

"Rose's spring!" exclaimed Garnet.

"But…his gem isn't broken, and he's organic…will it still work?" asked Pearl.

"We have to try!" replied Amethyst.

Lion took the initiative and opened another portal. He was about to grab Steven in his jaws until Pearl stopped him.

"Lion no! He can't be carried carelessly!" Lion growled at her almost as if he was saying “ _No duh genius!”_

"I'll carry him" spoke Lapis. Everyone, especially Pearl, was uneasy about her declaration. But she didn't wait around for their permission. She gingerly picked him up and followed Lion through the warp hole with the rest of his family close behind.

"Steven…just hold on" she whispered as she floated though the ray of diamond light.


	2. Chapter 2

The warp hole opened again, and they all skidded to a stop inside of Rose's sanctuary. But the jarring momentum caused Steven to softly scream in pain.

"Steven! We're sorry but you're going to be better soon! I promise!" said Pearl.

"Let's move" commanded Garnet.

Luckily the fountain wasn't covered with thick brambles like the last time they were here. They reached the fountain, but they couldn't just let him sink to the bottom. He couldn't breathe under water.

"We're going in with him. Lapis, you and Pearl hold him on one side. We'll hold him from the other side" said Garnet.

Lapis and Pearl looked at each other and at least for now they put their differences aside for Steven’s sake. Everyone stepped into the fountain and carefully held Steven so that everywhere but his nose and mouth was submerged.

"Nothing's happening! What if-"

"Pearl I swear I'll knock you into next week if you don't shut up! We just started! In case you hadn't noticed, he's really jacked up!" replied Amethyst, cutting Pearl off mid-sentence.

**"Not. Now."** said Garnet and they immediately got the message.

A minute passed even though it felt like an hour. It baffled their minds…their injuries were healed the second they stepped into the lachrymal essence, but it wasn't having any effect on Steven's body. But they refused to give up, even if it meant standing in the pool for eternity.

"Take him out!" ordered Garnet but the others refused since his condition didn't change. Garnet repeated herself, this time with a little more force **"Take. Him. Out.** He's not breathing!"

"WHAT?!" The rest of the group immediately took notice and carefully took him out and laid him on the stone floor.

Garnet pressed her head to his chest again. She looked up at her fellow gems and shook her head.

That hit them heavier than any of Jasper's punches.

"No…no no no no NO!" Pearl was losing it again.

Amethyst went into complete shutdown mode; she cried silently as she knelt down next to her play buddy.

Rose's son, their last link to their loving leader, their little brother…was gone.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Pearl suddenly shouted at Lapis. "If you hadn't been captured, Steven wouldn't have to forfeit his life!"

Lapis was shocked by the enraged outburst, but she didn't back down. "My fault?! I tried to get away! I didn't ask him to do this! You're the ones who let him walk over to Jasper knowing what would happen!"

"ENOUGH" roared Garnet, but that just riled up Amethyst.

"Enough?! You're not the boss of us anymore! What kind of leader stops us from helping Steven while he's getting the crap beat outta him?!" she demanded.

Garnet was silent for a moment. She took off her cracked sunglasses and looked at them through puffy eyes.

"I saw it" she said with a broken voice.

"I saw all the different possibilities. Lapis binding Jasper in a fusion and dragging her down into the ocean. You two beaten by Jasper then having your gems crushed. Just to name a few. I knew Steven had a plan when he told Lion to move. I saw him activate his new power. I saw him save us…"

"Did you see him die?!" asked Amethyst.

"…Yes, there was that possibility"

"How could even allow him to do that if there was that chance?! Why didn't you tell us?" asked Pearl.

"It was a possibility; meaning it might not have happened. And what good would it have done if I had told you? If Jasper didn't see you two flail about, she would've suspected something and probably killed him right then and there. Being a leader means you have to make choices that you don't necessarily like, but if it's good for the group then it must be made" Garnet explained.

"So you chose to sacrifice him in order to save us?!" asked a livid Pearl.

"I didn't choose this, he did! If it were Rose she would've done the exact same thing!" she countered.

While it pained them to hear this, in end they knew she was right. In fact Rose put her life on the line on multiple occasions during the war, so it was natural that Steven followed her example without even knowing it. Everyone except Lapis walked up to the edge of the fountain and looked at the statue of Rose.

"I-I just don't understand…you left us to make him…you leave us alone without any idea on how to take care of him and look what happens! He's dead because in the end he's the one who took care of us! Why did you do this?! Did you feel that we needed to learn a lesson?! Why?!" Pearl rambled at the inanimate object. She was beyond irritation and it took every ounce of self-control to circumvent herself from blaming and cursing the very person she gave up her whole world for.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and one on her side. Garnet and Amethyst just looked at her with understanding. They've been through a lot together, and that was an understatement. But Steven reignited their spark and zeal for their lives as well as the lives of the inhabitants of Earth. They couldn't be mad at Rose or even Jasper. In the end, they were mad at the situation. Nearly six millennia of unfinished business was paid by someone who was completely innocent and unaware of it all.

Pearl looked at the flowing statue again, with the tears to match. "We're sorry…w-we tried…but we couldn't…" she couldn't even finish before the sobs wracked through her body again. Amethyst and Garnet embraced her. All of them needed support to handle this devastating loss.

Lapis went over towards Steven's body. Lion sat near his head and licked his hair, as if he was trying to stimulate him like a newborn kitten. She knelt down and cried into her hands, grieving for the loss alone.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a small flicker of light was burning inside his rose quartz gem.

 


	3. Chapter 3

" _Steven"_

…

" _Steven, my darling son. Please wake up"_

"Mmmmgh" The previously torpor hybrid awoke to someone calling his name. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe his surroundings. He was in a large see-through crystalline palace; outside he could see an immense field similar to the one in Lion's mane. Even though he could tell that the structure was as hard as a diamond, it surprisingly felt soft and squishy underneath his head.

"Whoa…what is this place? …Wait a minute! Where's is everyone?!" His thoughts were about to make shoot up from his resting position until gentle hands stopped his ascent. "What the?" he questioned before a silhouette of thick curls obstructed his view of the crystal interior.

"It's alright my son, you're safe"

"That voice…it can't be!" he thought as his eyes focused on the figure above him. The being, as if she read his thoughts, scooped him up, held him up to her plump physique and cradled him. He slightly pushed away to get a better look, and what he saw confirmed his assumptions. Tears welled in his eyes as he silently exclaimed, "M-mom!"

The ethereal embodiment of love had tears in her eyes as well. She smiled down at her beloved son and hugged him even tighter, pouring all of her affection she wished she could've given him all the time he was on Earth.

After what seemed like an eternity of embraces, kisses and giggles, Steven finally pulled away from his mother and asked, "Mom, what is this place? And how are you here? I thought you gave up your physical form to make me." He didn't want to ask these questions because he was afraid that this was all an illusion. But his curiosity got the better of him.

Rose merely smiled and stroked his hair as he sat in her lap. "Steven, we are inside your gem. And before you say anything, yes. This is **your** gem, my gift to you and there are no exchanges or returns."

Steven giggled at that and Rose continued her explanation, "While you were resting, I looked at your memories and I saw what happened to you…"

Steven felt hot tears land on top of his head.

"Steven…I am so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. On the one hand you cannot fathom how long I've wanted to see you, but at the same I didn't want to see you due to the conditions that had to take place. Do you remember when Pearl and Garnet retreated to their gems?"

Steven nodded and she continued, "Your life was in critical condition, not even my healing spring could help you because you are half human. This isn't your body that's here now, but your consciousness combined with your remaining life force. I knew one day that you might be severely hurt so before I gave up my physical form, I infused half of myself in your gem to help you recuperate whenever the time came."

"Just like you said in the video!" Steven realized.

"I'm glad your guardian showed you that" said Rose.

"Guardian? Are you talking about Lion?" She nodded her head. "Was he your pet?" he asked.

"No, I made him specifically for you. To help you on your journey."

"You created Lion?! How? Why?" he asked.

"I saw in your memories that you created a tiny floating whale in my room, correct?"

That's when it clicked inside Steven's head…almost. "But I thought things in your room turn back into clouds."

"Lion is special. I used some of my essence to create him. He has his own free will, but he always had the instinct to protect and provide you knowledge that only I could give when the time was right."

"But…why a lion?"

"I wanted to create a powerful protector with approachable fluffiness. And, I've sort of been partial to cats since Amethyst kept shapeshifting into one. Plus I don't think a dinosaur would fit in your room" Steven laughed at that.

Then the mood got somewhat melancholy again as Rose sighed.

She said, “I saw in your memories how Pearl reacted when she realized I kept something from her. I wish I could apologize to her, but she was my confidant and now she's not needed in that role anymore. Lion is your confidant and in essence replaced her. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that… but I see that she is flourishing and growing in her new role as your mentor. Garnet and Amethyst have grown as well and it's all thanks to you. You've brought out a different side of them that I could've never hope to achieve, even though we've been together for so long."

Then Steven realized something, "…You were their crutch…"

"And now you're helping them walk. Please, _please_ don't hold it against them if they seem cold to you at times because of my absence, they're still learning" she beseeched.

"I won't. I mean, I couldn't even if I wanted to. They're my family" he said.

Rose smiled and held him up to her chest again. She loosened her grip again because he was starting to squirm.

"Sorry" she said.

"No! It's ok. It's just…you've been hugging me all this time and I haven't given you one yet” he explained.

Stars appeared in her eyes and she laughed in their signature way. She released him and he stood up, wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face into her luxurious curls.

While he would've loved to stay forever, he knew that he had to get back to the gems as quickly as possible. He pulled away from the embrace and asked, "How long will it take for me to recover?"

Rose showed a slight frown and Steven quickly backtracked. "Not that I don't want to be here with you! I mean this is awesome but I really want to let them know I'm ok. I'm sure they're worried about me, and I want to tell them about you!"

Rose sighed and said, "Steven…I'm not upset. I know you want to get better it's just that…I don't want you to."

"W-what?" asked Steven.

Rose's couldn't believe she just said that. "No! That's not what I meant! Of course I want you to get better…it's just that I don't want you to return to your body."

Steven was still thoroughly confused.

She in groaned in frustration at the confusion she created. "I wish I could put this into better words. Steven…please, _please_ understand. When I saw the condition you were in, it broke my heart to know that my actions, no matter how noble or contradicting they were, all those years ago did that to do. If I wasn't in your gem…you would've died. I know that humans believe in a place called heaven and I know that's where you’d be right now. And that's where I’d want you to be."

"What're are you saying?" he asked.

Rose realized her folly in trying to sugarcoat her true emotions and decided that being straightforward was the only course of action. "Steven…if you want, I can reincarnate myself and take over like I did before. But in order to do that…I'll need your gem…" Rose's voice shuddered as she made her offer.

Then it finally clicked in Steven's head as he asked, "…Are you asking me to die?"

She was at the point of no return. “ _Have to be straightforward”_ , she reminded herself.

"Yes" she answered.

 


End file.
